''Gambusia'' is a large genus of
viviparous
In animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, with the maternal circulation providing for the metabolic needs of the embryo's development, until the mother gives birth to a fully or partially developed juve ...
fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
in the family
Poeciliidae
Poeciliidae are a Family (biology), family of freshwater ray-finned fishes of the order Cyprinodontiformes, the tooth-carps, and include well-known live-bearing aquarium fish, such as the guppy, Poecilia, molly, Platy (fish), platy, and Green swo ...
(order
Cyprinodontiformes
Cyprinodontiformes is an order (biology), order of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish, comprising mostly small, freshwater fish. Many popular aquarium fish, such as killifish and Poeciliidae, live-bearers, are included. They are closely related t ...
). ''Gambusia'' contains over 40 species, most of which are principally found in freshwater habitats, though some species may also be found in
brackish
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
or saltwater habitats. The genus ''Gambusia'' comes from the Cuban term, "Gambusino", which means "free-lance miner".
The
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
is the
Cuban gambusia
The Cuban gambusia, spotted gambusia or blue gambusia (''Gambusia punctata'') is a species of freshwater fish. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes, and is the type species of its genus. It is native to Cuba, inha ...
, ''G. punctata''. The greatest
species richness
Species richness is the number of different species represented in an community (ecology), ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the Abundance (ecology), abunda ...
is in Mexico,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, and the
Greater Antilles
The Greater Antilles is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica, together with Navassa Island and the Cayman Islands. Seven island states share the region of the Greater Antille ...
, but species are also found elsewhere in the eastern and southern
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the
Bahamas
The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...
, Central America, and
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
. ''Gambusia'' species are often called topminnows, or simply gambusias; they are also known as mosquitofish, which, however, refers more specifically to two species, ''
G. affinis'' and ''
G. holbrooki'', which are often introduced into ponds to eat
mosquito
Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...
larvae. As a consequence, they have been introduced widely outside their native range, and frequently become
invasive, threatening local species. ''G. affinis'' and ''G. holbrooki'' are now established in many parts of the world and are likely to continue to spread as climatic conditions change.
They are only occasionally kept in aquariums, due to their relative lack of color and the highly aggressive nature of the aforementioned mosquitofish species.
Nine species are listed as
vulnerable in the
IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...
; two, the
widemouth gambusia, ''G. eurystoma'', and the
crescent gambusia, ''G. hurtadoi'', are
critically endangered
An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...
; and two, the
Amistad gambusia, ''G. amistadensis'', and the
San Marcos gambusia, ''G. georgei'', are already
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
.
Species
The 45 currently recognized species in this genus are:
[
* '' Gambusia affinis'' ( S. F. Baird & Girard, 1853) (mosquitofish, western mosquitofish)
* '' Gambusia alvarezi'' C. Hubbs & V. G. Springer, 1957 (yellowfin gambusia)
* †'' Gambusia amistadensis'' Peden, 1973 (Amistad gambusia)
* '' Gambusia atrora'' D. E. Rosen & R. M. Bailey, 1963 (blackfin gambusia)
* '' Gambusia aurata'' R. R. Miller & W. L. Minckley, 1970 (golden gambusia)
* '' Gambusia baracoana'' Rivas, 1944
* '' Gambusia beebei'' G. S. Myers, 1935 (Miragoane gambusia)
* '' Gambusia bucheri'' Rivas, 1944
* '' Gambusia clarkhubbsi'' G. P. Garrett & R. J. Edwards, 2003 (San Felipe gambusia)
* '']Gambusia dominicensis
''Gambusia dominicensis'', known as the Dominican gambusia, domingo gambusia, or domingo mosquito fish, is a species of freshwater fish native to the lake of Etang Saumatre on Hispaniola, in eastern Haiti and the western Dominican Republic. A 20 ...
'' Regan, 1913 (Dominican gambusia)
* '' Gambusia echeagarayi'' (Álvarez Álvarez or Álvares may refer to:
People
*Álvarez (surname), Spanish surname
Places
* Alvares (river), a river in northern Spain
* Alvares (ski resort), in Iran
* Alvares, Iran
* Alvares, Portugal
* Álvarez, Santa Fe, a town in the province of ...
, 1952) (Maya gambusia)
* '' Gambusia eurystoma'' R. R. Miller, 1975 (widemouth gambusia)
* ''Gambusia gaigei
The Big Bend gambusia (''Gambusia gaigei'') is a rare species of fish in the family Poeciliidae. It is endemic to the Big Bend region of the Rio Grande of the United States and Mexico. The only known remaining population is in a protected pond ...
'' C. L. Hubbs, 1929 (Big Bend gambusia)
* '' Gambusia geiseri'' C. Hubbs & C. L. Hubbs, 1957 (largespring gambusia)
* †'' Gambusia georgei'' C. Hubbs & Peden, 1969 (San Marcos gambusia)
* ''Gambusia heterochir
The Clear Creek gambusia (''Gambusia heterochir'') is a species of fish in the family Poeciliidae endemic to the United States, particularly Menard County, Texas.
Habitat and biology
The Clear Creek gambusia inhabits the headwaters of Clear Cree ...
'' C. Hubbs, 1957 (Clear Creek gambusia)
* '' Gambusia hispaniolae'' W. L. Fink, 1971 (Hispaniolan gambusia)
* '' Gambusia holbrooki'' Girard, 1859 (eastern mosquitofish)
* '' Gambusia hurtadoi'' C. Hubbs & V. G. Springer, 1957 (crescent gambusia)
* '' Gambusia krumholzi'' W. L. Minckley, 1963 (spotfin gambusia)
* '' Gambusia lemaitrei'' Fowler, 1950
* '' Gambusia longispinis'' W. L. Minckley, 1962 (Cuatrocienegas gambusia)
* '' Gambusia luma'' D. E. Rosen & R. M. Bailey, 1963 (sleek mosquitofish)
* '' Gambusia manni'' C. L. Hubbs, 1927
* '' Gambusia marshi'' W. L. Minckley & Craddock, 1962 (robust gambusia)
* '' Gambusia melapleura'' ( P. H. Gosse, 1851) (striped gambusia)
* '' Gambusia monticola'' Rivas, 1971
* '' Gambusia myersi'' C. G. E. Ah, 1925
* '' Gambusia nicaraguensis'' Günther, 1866 (Nicaraguan mosquitofish)
* ''Gambusia nobilis
The Pecos gambusia (''Gambusia nobilis''), also known as the Pecos mosquitofish, is a species of fish in the family Poeciliidae Endemism, endemic to the Pecos River in Texas and New Mexico in the United States. This two-inch species, as most of ...
'' ( S. F. Baird & Girard, 1853) (Pecos gambusia)
* '' Gambusia panuco'' C. L. Hubbs, 1926 (Panuco gambusia)
* '' Gambusia pseudopunctata'' Rivas, 1969 (Tiburon Peninsula gambusia)
* '' Gambusia punctata'' Poey, 1854 (Cuban gambusia)
* '' Gambusia puncticulata'' Poey, 1854 (Caribbean gambusia)
* '' Gambusia quadruncus'' Langerhans, Gifford, Domínguez-Domínguez, García-Bedoya & T. J. DeWitt, 2012
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Freshwater fish genera
Freshwater fish of Central America
Freshwater fish of South America
Freshwater fish of Mexico
Live-bearing fish
Ray-finned fish genera
Poeciliidae
Taxa named by Felipe Poey